Scleroscope



April 8 1924.

w. F. SHORE SCLEROSCOPE 3 Sheets-Sheet l Ill/11414275741! r/l/llIl/ll/lllll! INVENTOR ATTORNEY Fatented Apr. 8, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE.

WILLIAIVI F. SHORE, OF FREEPORT, N EW YORK.

SCLEROSGOIE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. SHORE, a citizen of the United States, residing at F reeport, in the county of Nassau and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Scleroscopes, of which the following is a full clear, and exact specification. A This invention relates to scleroscopes or devices for testing the hardness of solid bodies, in which a hammer or striker is allowed to drop from a certain height on the material to be tested and to rebound therefrom, the height of rebound indicating the degree of hardness of the material. In LettersPatent No. 1,154,663 issued to me on September 28, 1915, a device of this characted is disclosed, in which the action of the a striker is not visible and in which the height of rebound cannot be read directly from the striker, but is given by a secondary indicating mechanism. With an apparatus of this kind there may therefore arise in the whether the device is functioning properly and accurately.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to devise a hardness tester in which the action of the striker is visible throughout the operation, in which the striker will be retained permanently, that is, as long as desired, in its highest position of rebound, and in which the reading of such rebound can be taken directly from the striker.

Another object is to allow the striker to fall and rebound entirely free and independent of its locking mechanism.

Another object of the invention is to so 7 construct the guides forthe striker that the 4 latter can move up and down with the least amount of friction and air resistance.

Still another object is to provide means whereby the striker-retaining and locking mechanism may, at the operators choice, be

4 thrown in or out of operation.

Another object is to simplify the construction of the apparatus and to so construct certain parts that they will exclude grit or dirt from the mechanism.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will appear fully from the description following hereinafter, and the novel features will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings I have il- Application filed. December 7, 1921.

mind of the operator some doubt as to Serial No. 520,551.

lustrated, as an example, a preferred and satisfactory form of my invention, but I desire it to be understood that I donot restrict myself to the exact details shown, but

that many modifications may be made Within the scope of my invention.

, In these drawings Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the device, with parts in section;

Fig. 2 is a section taken substantially at right angles to Fig. 1;

' Fig. 3 is a top view, showing parts of the timing and locking mechanism; Fig. 4 is a top View, with certain parts omitted for the sake of clearness;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section showing the casing and guide for the striker;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary front view showing a scale;

Fig. 7 is a partial front elevation showing a device for changing the operation of the apparatus; and

' Fig. 8 is a section on line 8-8 of Fig. i

1, illustrating more clearly certain details shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and showing certain parts in a different position.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, 10 represents a tube or casing formed by a semi-annular wall 11 and a transparent panel 12 held against guides 13 by means of beaded strips 14. The guides 13 enclose with the panel 12 a space or channel115 of trapezoidal cross section (Fig. 5) open toward the inside of the tube 10, in which space is adapted to move up and down a striker 16. The casing 10 is pro-, vided on its outside with a rack 17 actuated by gearing 18, 19, 20, by means of which the casing may be raised or lowered with respect to the surface of the material to be tested. This raising and lowering device has been fully illustrated in my patent above referred. to, and its details have therefore been omitted from the. present application. 21is a ring-shaped handle by means of. which the apparatus may be manipulated, and 22 indicates a table or support on which the material to be tested may be placed. I At the lower end of the casing 10 is a perforated cap 23. 1 Inside the casing 10 and lengthwise thereof extends a shaft or spindle 24 held rotatably between a bearing 25 in the lower part of the casing 10 and a bearing 26 carried by a plate or ring 27 on a housing 28 formed with an extension 'or housing 31 into which extendsa spindle 32 carrying at its outer end a knob 33 to which is secured one end of a spiral or clock spring 34 the other or inner end of which is secured'to a stationary part of the knob 33. The spindle 32 carries at its inner end a pinion 35 in mesh with a rack 36 guided up and down in the housing 31 on a guide pin 37 and having secured thereto an arm 38 havinga forked end engaging a spring 39 coiled around a rod 40 mounted for sliding movement up and down in the casing 10. The upper end of the spring 39 bears against a collar on the rod 40, which latter carries, rigidly connected therewith, a shoe 41 engaged at timesv by the free end of a lever or trigger 42 pivoted on the casing 10 at 43 and pressed toward said shoe by a spring 44. The trigger 42 carries a roller 45 engaged at times by a cam 46 secured to the 'rack .36 and moving up and down therewith. At its lower end, the rod 40 carries an arm 47 projecting into the space or channel 15 and adapted to engage at times aflange on the striker 16. Above the rod 40 is arranged a shock absorber 48.

Attached to the rack 36 is anactuating rod 49 the upper end of which is connected with a rack 50 mounted in the housing 28 for u and down movement on a uide bar 51. The rack 50 is engaged by a pinion 52 mounted rotatably-on a short stud or axle 53 extending from a bearing block 54 in the housing 28, and'rigidly connected with the pinion 52 is a bevel gear 55 in mesh with a bevel wheel 56-rotatable freely on a bushing 57 of the block54, which bushing surrounds the spindle 24. Attached to the upper surface of the bevel gear 56 is an arm 58 adapted to engage at .times a downweirdly-projecting pin 59 on a clutch menr. ber 60 pivoted eccentrically at 61 on the hub portion of a balance wheel 62 held to rotate with the spindle 24. The balance wheel 62 has an overhanging flange interrupted for part of its circumference, as shown clearly in Fig. 3, so that the clutch member 60 may come in contact with the wall of the housing 28. Arranged above the wheel 62 is a spiral spring 63 the inner end of which is fastened to the spindle 24, while its outer end is secured to an anchor post 64 forming part of the adjusting ring 27 normally rigid with the housing 28, but by means of which the tension of the spring 63 may be adjusted after the screw 65 has been removed. A cap or lid 66 preferably covers all these parts, to exclude dust and dirt from the inside of the apparatus.

The bevel wheel 56 is provided in its lower surface with a down-wardly-extending pin 67 adapted to come into contact with the upper end of a catch member 68 fulcrumed on the block 54 and provided at its lower end with a hook 69 normally projecting into the space or channel 15 under the action of a spring 70. When so projected, the hook 69'is in the path of the striker 16 and is adapted to hold suchstriker in its uppermost'position within the channel 15.

71 is a dash pot containing a plunger 72 connected with the rack 50 by means of a rod 78. The purpose of this dash pot arrangement is to actas a damper for the operation of the instrument. 74 indicates a plumb rod which enables me to properly position the instrument.

In Figs. 2 and 7 I have shown a device for changing the operation of the apparatus, as will be described below. This device consists of a fiat spring 75 secured to the housing- 28 and adapted to be pressed into contact with the balance wheel 62 by means of ac-am 7 6 operated from the outside of thehousing by means of a lever or pointer 77. 78 is a door hinged on the outside of the casing 28, to permit access to the parts contained in said casing. j

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: .lVhen the knob 33 is turned in a clockwise direction, pinion 35 is also turned, causing rack 36. to move upward in the housing 31. The throw-up rod 40 is held against upward movement by the engagement of the trigger 42 with the shoe 41, and the spring 39 will therefore be compressed between the arm 38 moving with the rack 36 and the collar on the rod 40. As rack 36 continues its upward movement, cam 46 on rack 36 'will' come into contact with the roller 45 on the trigger 42 and push the latter out of engagement with the shoe 41, thus releasing the shoe and allowing the rod 40 to move up. quickly, under the action of the spring 39. This quick movement will cause the arm 47 at the lower end of rod 40 to throw the striker .16 upward'to the top of the space or channel 15 where it will be caught by the hook 69 on the catch 68 and retained in such position.

The upward movement of rack 36, through the intermediary of rod 49, also causes rack 50 to move upward in the casing 28, and this movement, through pinion 52 and bevel gear 55, causes the bevel wheel 56 to rotate contra-clockwise. This rotation will bring the arm 58 into contact with the pin 59 on clutch member 60 and will rotate the latance wheel 62 and also spindle 24 on which balance wheel 62.

the balance wheel 62 is mounted rigidly, thus winding or putting under tension spring 63.

Now, as knob 33 is allow ;d to return to its starting position under the action of the spring 34, the two racks 36 and 50 will also be returnedto their lower position, the downward movement of rack 36 allowing the spring to relax and the throw-up rod 40 with the arm 47 to return to its lower position. The downward movement 01'? the rack 50 brings the pinion 52 and bevel gears 55, 56 to their original position, allowing the spindle 24 to turn back or clockwise under But, as the striker 16 15 now held in its uppermost posithe action of the spring tion by the catch 68, 69, the movement of the spindle 24: is arrested by'the timing cam 2-9 coming in contact with the striker, until the pin (37 on the bevel Wheel has disengaged the catch from the striker, allowing the latter to drop by gravity to the surface of the material to be tested. The spindle Bl now continues its turning movement, which. is so timed that the lower end of the spiral locking cam 30 comes in line with the striker 16 at the moment the latter arrives at the bottom.

After striking the body to be tested, the striker rebounds, while the spindle with the spiral locking cam 30 continues to revolve.

. This locking cam is of such a pitch that a point of its outer surface or line is always near the striker on its way up. lVlien the striker reaches its highest point of rebound, it stops for a moment. During this short moment, and before the striker has time to fall back, the surface of the cam 30 comes in contact with it and presses it against the sides of the channel 15. The spindle 24 thus comes to sudden stop, causing the clutch member 60 to be thrown forward by its momentum against the inner wall of the housing 28, thereby locking the mechanism and retaining the striker in its highestposition of rebound, until another test is to be made. This position may then be read off on the scale 7 9.

In some cases it may be desirable to use "the instrument without retaining the striker or pointer 77 toward the left (Fig. 7), thus lifting, by means of the cam 76, the free end of the spring 75 into engagement with the This engagement, while allowing the balance wheel to turn contraclockwise when the knob is turned as described above, will prevent the return. move ment of the wheel 62 under the action of the spring 63. and the locking mechanism will thus not be brought into operative re lation to the striker.

The turning of the knob at the beginning of another test, and the consequent contra-. clockwise rotation of the spindle 2streleases the striker fron'i engagement with the looking cam 30 and allows it to drop to the bottom, whence it will be thrown up to the top of the tube 15 by the throw-up rod 40, 47, as described above.

It will be seen that the striker in its upand-down movement is guided in the guide channel 15 along three lines, thereby reducing friction materially, and that, owing to the trapezoidal cross section of said channel, the air can circulate freely through said channel during the up-and-down movement of the striker, and the air resistance isthus.

reduced to a minimum.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an apparatus for testing the hard ness of a solid body, a striker, means for projecting said striker to its elevated position, means for holding said striker in its elevated position, means for releasing the holding means for the striker in elevated position, thus allowing the striker to fall on said body and rebound therefrom, means for retaining the striker in its highest position of rebound, and a scale for indicating directly such high est position of the striker.

2. In an apparatus for testing the hardness of a solid body, a striker, means for pro jeoting said striker to its elevated position,

means for holding said striker in its ele-' vated position, means for releasing the'holding means forthe striker in elevated position, thus allowing the striker to fall on said body and rebound therefrom, means for retaining the striker in its highest position of rebound, and a tube for guiding said striker in its up-a-nd-down movement,

said tube having a transparent wall and a striker, means for holding said striker in. its

elevated position, means for releasing said holding means for the striker in elevated position and thus allowing the striker to fall freely to the surface of said body and rebound therefrom, and means for retaining the striker in its highest position of rebound.

4'. In an apparatus tortesting the hardness of a solid body, a St1ll-i81,.1n82tDS for projecting said striker to its elevated position, means for holding said striker in its elevated position, means for releasing said holding means for the striker and allowing the striker to fall on said body and rebound therefrom, means for locking the striker in its highest position of rebound, and an operative connection between said releasing means and said locking means to bring said locking means into operation during the rebound movement of the striker.

5. In an apparatus for testing the hardness of a solid body, a striker, means for projecting said striker to its elevated position, means for holding said striker in its elevated position, means for releasing said holding means for the striker and allowing the striker to fall on said body and rebound therefrom, a tube having a channel for guiding said striker in its up-anddown movement, a device for locking the striker in its highest position of rebound, said locking device comprising a locking cam adapted to project into said channel, and a timing cam connected with said locking cam to prevent the locking cam from being brought into operation until after the striker has been released by said releasing means.

6. In an apparatus for testing the hardness of a solid body, a striker, a tube having a channel for guiding said striker in 7 its movement toward and from said solid body,

' said channel being of trapezoidal cross section and having a three-line guiding contact with said striker, so as to allow said striker tomove in said channel with the least amount of friction and air resistance.

7. In an apparatus for testing the hard ness of a solid body, a striker, means for projecting said striker toits elevated position, means for holding said striker in its elevated position, means for releasing the holding means for the striker in elevated position, thus allowing the striker to fall on said body and rebound therefrom, means for locking the striker in its highest position of rebound, and means for damping the action of the releasing and locking means.

8. In an apparatus for testing the hardness of a solid body, a striker, means for pro jecting said striker to its elevated position, means for holding said striker in its elevated position, means for releasing the holding means for the striker in elevated position, thus allowing the striker to fall on said body and rebound therefrom, means for locking the striker in its highest position of rebound, and a dash-pot for damping the action of the releasing and locking means.

9. In an apparatus for testing the hard ness of a solid body, a striker, manually controlled means for projecting said striker to its extreme elevated and inactive position, means for holding said striker in its elevated position, means for releasing the holding means for the striker in elevated position, thus allowing the striker to fall on said body and rebound therefrom, a locking device for retaining the striker in its highest position of rebound, and means for throwing said locking device into or out of operation, at the operators will.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature.

WILLIAM F. SHORE. 

